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Friday, June 14, 2019

Boom! Tigers Land 4-Star Linebacker Trenton Simpson

Four Booms in two weeks for the Tigers.

Three weeks ago this recruitment looked to be getting away from Auburn. North Carolina was the odds on favorite in this race with no one counting Georgia out just yet. Then, 4* LB Trenton Simpson and his family took an official visit to the Plains during Big Cat Weekend.

Everything changed.

Rumors were Auburn had surged in the race, possibly even overtaking the Tar Heels. Today, he proved those rumors true, announcing his verbal pledge to the Tigers.

Simpson held offers from seemingly every major power 5 program but had a top 5 of Auburn, Georgia, Miami, North Carolina and Tennessee. The Heels and Dawgs though were the Tigers top competition. For the 2nd straight season T-WILL beat Kirby out for a top linebacker and for the 3rd time in 2019, Auburn made UNC fans sad.

Highlights

Scouting Report

It’s never a bad thing when a linebacker prospect is also a highly productive tailback. Simpson is a special athlete. At 6”3 220 lbs, Simpson has long arms that allow him to keep would be blockers at bay and has the strength to disengage to make the stop. An explosive first step makes Simpson a nightmare off the edge in pass rushing situations. As a running back, you can see his lateral quickness and outstanding vision which at linebacker helps him navigate through heavy traffic to find the ball carrier and make plays. He could honestly end up at a number of positions for the Tigers from Buck to MLB. My guess is he will grow into a MLB. He and Owen Pappoe have a chance to give Auburn as athletically talented a pair at linebacker as we’ve seen in some time.

The Class

Simpson is only the 2nd defensive commit of the class but a hugely important one. He’s ranked as the 52nd best player in the country hovering just outside 5* status. Travis Williams wants 4 linebackers this cycle to reload his room and this is a heck of a way to kick it off. He’s still hard after 4* Phillip Webb, 4* Wesley Steiner, 4* Cameron Riley and 4* Desmond Tisdol, all who could land in this class.

This makes four commits already in the month of June. There’s still a good chance 1-2 more could jump on board before the start of June. Keep an eye on 4* WR Ze’Vian Capers who will be taking an official visit to campus this weekend.